


By any other name

by kitbug



Series: The Tribulations of Andi Ryder [5]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Gen, good natured harrassment between friends, poker time with gil, tbf her name is pretty ridiculous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-09 12:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12276903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitbug/pseuds/kitbug
Summary: During a poker game, Liam realizes that Andi has to be short for something.  Andi is less than pleased by the crew's badgering.





	By any other name

“Andi.  What’s it short for?”

Andi looked up from pondering her cards to give Liam a confused look.  “What’s what short for?”

“Your name.  Andi.  Usually it’s short for something.  A nickname.  You know, like, for Andrew.  But you’re clearly not an Andrew, so what’s it short for?”

Andi rolled her eyes and threw another chip into the pile to raise the bet.  “Does it have to be short for anything?  I could just be Andi.”

Gil smirked and raised the bet.  “That was the weakest denial I’ve ever heard.  Now I’m curious too.  What’s it short for?”

“What’s Gil short for?” She made an attempt to turn the tables.

“Gilbert.”  He shrugged.  “Can’t all be winners.  Your turn.”

“Are ‘nicknames’ that common among Initiative species?” Jaal asked.  He was sitting behind Andi.  He chose to observe this game to better learn the rules.

“Mostly just with humans,” Peebee commented.  She’d already declared her hand garbage and folded.  She was just enjoying the showdown.  “It’s not done often among asari.   _ I’m _ a special case.”

“Almost never with turians.  And krogan names are already super short,” Vetra added as she threw her cards into the middle of the table in disgust.

Liam snapped the fingers on his free hand.  “SAM has to know!”  He matched the bet and gave it another raise, prompting a snarl and fold from Drack.  “SAM, what’s Andi short for?”

_ “The Pathfinder has requested that I file that information under, quote, ‘shit that only gets revealed on pain of death.’  As her life is currently not at risk, this information is unaccessible.” _

Andi barked out a laugh and called the bet.  “Great answer, SAM.”

“So, it exists then, is what you’re telling us.  Andi is definitely short for something,” Gil said as he matched the bet, and Liam followed suit.  “Is it Andrea?”

“Nnnnnnnnnope.” Andi sighed heavily.  She’d trapped herself, and Gil was like a dog with a bone when it came to letting things go.

“You know, even if we guessed it, she could still lie and say that’s not it,” Vetra pointed out.  “We need someone to verify.”

“Try the doc,” Drack grumbled.  “She’ll have the kid’s medical files.”

“Draaaaaaaack,” Andi whined as she discarded three cards.  “I thought you loved me.  What is this treachery?”

He snorted and gave her a crooked smile.  “S’not my fault, kid.  You can’t put out bait like that and get mad when something bites.”

Gil discarded two cards and cast a sly glance across the table.  “Give her a shout, Liam.”

“Hey, Lexi?”  Liam called on the comms as Andi shot him a dirty look.  He discarded one card so Gil could deal replacements.

“If you’re calling me because Drack finally let you headbutt him, I’m not coming up there.”

“Nope, not that.”  Liam gave Andi a shit-eating grin.  “What’s Andi’s real name?”

“I’m afraid that’s privileged information.”

“Wait wait wait,” Peebee cut-in, waving like the doctor could see it through the comm channel.  “Her  _ name _ is privileged information?  Are you serious right now?”

“When the patient says it’s privileged, it’s privileged,” Lexi replied dryly.

“Thanks, Lexi!”  Andi scooped up her replacement cards and rearranged them in her hand.  She threw two more chips in the pot to restart the betting.

“Okay, what about Andreina?”  Gil asked as he sorted out his hand.

Andi snickered.  “That’s so old-timey.  Nope.”

Vetra ventured a guess.  “Andolina?”

“ _ That _ sounds made up.”  Andi gave her a raspberry.  “Wrong!”

“Okay, who else would know?  Someone else has to know.”  Gil matched and gave it another raise.

“Know what?”  Cora asked as she came up the ramp to see how the game was going.   


“Andi’s real name.” Liam said and called the bet.  “We’re trying to figure it out.  Do you know it?”

“Yes.”  She took a seat next to Jaal.

“Aaaaaaaaand it’s...?” Peebee badgered.  “Aren’t you going to tell us?”

“No,” she said with a perfectly straight face.

Andi smirked and raised the bet again.

“What, why not?” Peebee crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

“Because she asked me not to.”  Cora gave them all a pointed look that ended that line of inquiry.   


Gil matched and raised.  “Alright then, back to guessing.  Andena?”

A long-suffering sigh.  “Still no.”

“Andrianna?”  Liam called his bet.

Andi glared and raised it.  “Will you guys just give it up?”

“The lady doth protest too much.” Gil matched and raised.  “We have to know now.”

“Sorry, not sorry?”  Liam considered the steadily growing pot and then threw down his cards.  “How about… Andraste?”

“What the fuck kind of name is that?  Now you  _ are _ just making shit up.” Andi growled and raised again, paying little mind to her rapidly dwindling pile.  She felt Jaal’s hands on her shoulders, partly to try and get her to relax and partly to see the cards in her hand.  Relaxing wasn’t going to happen.  This was personal.  “No.  Now  _ knock it off _ .”

“You know, I think we’re approaching this from the wrong angle,” Gil pondered aloud and tossed  several more credit chips into the pot.  “It has to be something really embarrassing.  She wouldn’t put up this much fight otherwise.”

“Oh?”  Andi matched and raised, daring him to continue both the bet and his line of thought.   


Gil matched and slid a pile of chips worth far more than Andi’s current funds as she stared in disbelief.  “I’ll accept your name in lieu of credits, should I win this bet.”

Andi sucked in a breath and weighed her options.  “Or I could fold and walk away.”

“You won’t, though.”  He gave her a sharklike grin.  “Not after that show you just put on.”

_ “Pathfinder, caution.  He is not bluffing,” _ SAM warned on their private channel.

She felt the entire table staring at her in anticipation.  If she caved now and fled, there would be merciless teasing.  If she lost and gave them what they wanted, there would be merciless teasing.  If she  _ won _ , she could rub it in their smug faces and use the money to go get wasted on Kadara with Reyes, who had the decency to respect people’s privacy.   _ That _ was a solid plan.  And she did have a very good hand.

Andi gave Gil an even stare and dumped her remaining pile of credit chips in the pot.  “Alright,  _ Gilbert _ .  You go all in, my name goes in the pot.  Put your money where your mouth is.”

“The Pathfinder’s wish is my command.”  Gil gave her an extravagant bow and pushed the rest of his chips to the center of the table.

She could feel the tension in the air as she slowly revealed her cards one by one: a jack of spades, a jack of hearts, a jack of clubs, a jack of diamonds, and a ten of spades.  Liam let out a low whistle, and there was an impressed murmur around the table.  It was a damned good hand. 

“What d’you say to that,  _ Gilbert _ ?”  Andi asked and then her smug grin turned downward when she realized he wasn’t concerned in the slightest.  “You don’t look nervous.  Shit.  Why don’t you look nervous?"

“Because I’m going to be drinking  _ very well _ next time we stop somewhere with a bar.”  He smirked and threw down his cards to reveal a straight flush in clubs, 9-high.  “What do you have to say to that?”

“ _ Fuck _ .”  Her forehead hit the table with a dull thud, starting a concerned noise out of Jaal.  She should have seen this coming.  Why didn’t she see this coming when SAM warned her he wasn’t bluffing.

“And…?”

Andi mumbled into the table.  Her face felt like it was on fire.

“Can’t hear you.  Say it loud and proud!”

“Andromeda!  My full name is Andromeda Sara Ryder!  Happy?”  She glared around the table, daring them to laugh.  To her utter amazement, no one was.

“That’s… kind of cool, actually,” Gil conceded, nodding.  “Much more exciting that Gilbert, anyway.”

“Dude, it’s awesome!”  Liam crowed and clapped her on the back.  She almost fell forward onto the table again.  “And now, you lead the  _ Andromeda _ Initiative!”

“In the  _ Andromeda _ galaxy!” Peebee added with a grin.  “Can definitely see why you’d find that embarrassing, though.”

“Andi was the butt of  _ a lot _ of jokes when we were training for this,” Cora explained and gave the stunned Pathfinder a sympathetic pat on the arm.  “Her father put an end to it eventually, and she had her personnel files altered after Tann tried to use it for publicity when… she took over the post.”

“Leave it to a salarian to milk a tragedy,” Drack snarled.  Then his voice softened.  “It’s a good name, kid.”

“Wait, Scott is so normal though.”  Vetra cocked her head to the side.  “Is that his middle name?”

“Y-yeah.”  Andi relaxed now that it was clear no one was going to ride her for her name.  “Mom wanted to name us Sara and Scott, but Dad thought that was boring.  They made some kind of bet, I never found out what it was, but the winner got their names to be the first names.  Obviously, Mom lost.”

“So, what’s Scott’s first name?”

“Eridanus.  Our parents called us Sara and Scott until we started school, and then one of my teachers didn’t know we used our middle names, and she said Andromeda was ‘too big for such a small child,’ and she was gonna call me Andi if that was okay.”  She shrugged and chuckled.  “I liked it, so it stuck.  She tried to give one to Scott to, but you know,  _ he’s _ the stubborn one.”   


That got a laugh and killed the rest of Andi’s tension.  She yawned hugely and stood up.  “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to call it a night.”  After exchanging good nights with everyone, she slipped out with Jaal and made for her room all the way across the ship.   


Andi stood on the observation platform in her room and looked out at the stars.  Jaal’s arms curled around her, and she leaned back against his chest.  Over her shoulder, she could see him looking pensive.   


“Hey,” she said and tapped his arm to get his attention.  His brilliant blue eyes met hers and for the hundredth time she mentally marvelled at how pretty they were.  “You’ve been quiet.  Credit for your thoughts?”

He gave her a small smile.  “I’ve just been thinking.  Your name is… I can’t stop thinking about how beautiful it is.  Of all the galaxies your people could have chosen to try this Initiative in, it was this one.  And without your people and your leadership, we would have no chance against the Kett.”  His embrace tightened.  “It all seems so unlikely, but, it’s like destiny that you’re here.  Like our galaxies were connected by this single thread that only grows stronger with each passing day.  And… I’m humbled, that someone like you would choose to be with me.”

Andi felt her face flush hot at his praise.  She turned in his embrace and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder.  “Oh my god, Jaal.  I--”  She was at a loss for words.  No one had ever praised her name like that before.  “Thank you.  You’re ridiculous, and I love you.”

He laughed into her hair and then scooped her up into his arms.  “I’ll show you how serious I am.  I’ll show you how much I adore you and your name,  _ Andromeda Sara Ryder _ ,” the way he purred her name made her shiver with delighted anticipation, “until you adore it yourself.”

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this like, ages ago. Finally decided to finish it. Fun story: I actually just named my Ryder "Andi" because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Later I was like, I should figure out what that's short for but never really gave it much thought. And then even later after that it hit me like a sack of bricks that I could be utterly ridiculous and have her full name be Andromeda. So, here we are.
> 
> tumblargh is [here](http://kittlesandbugs.tumblr.com) if you feel like swinging by to chat or whatevs


End file.
